If you’re a fan of sweepstakes, you’ve probably heard about automated sweepstakes entry services. Computer programs that can automatically enter sweepstakes for you can also be considered automated sweepstakes entry services.

Essentially, automated sweepstakes entry services and programs charge a fee to use your personal information to enter you into various sweepstakes online. The program Roboform and the browsing tool Autofill are not thought of as automatic sweepstakes entry services, since you still have to visit the webpage for each sweepstakes and submit your own entry. We wrote about these programs in our Top 5 Software Tools article.

Sweepstakes fans are so divided on automated services! Those in favor say tools make this hobby easier to enjoy, while those against them say tools make sweepstakes less fun for everyone.

In this article, we’re going to show you both sides of the debate so you can make an informed decision on whether to use any tools or not.

Is using software tools considered cheating?

Well, it depends. Some sweepstakes allow automated entries, while many do not.

For example, WinForMe, Yoursweepstakes, or other tools like those supposedly only submit your information to sweepstakes that allow these types of entries.

WinForMe’s website says, “if the sweepstakes rules prohibit entry by third parties, commercial or automatic sweepstakes entry services, scripts, bots, or macros, we do not enter those sweepstakes for our members. However, many sponsors see the benefits of receiving entry from services like ours, and allow us to enter.”

So, since these programs generally don’t submit your information to sweepstakes that don’t allow automated entries, they can’t be considered cheating in that context.

However, some sweepstakes fans think such software programs are “cheating” because they might violate the spirit of the game, if not the actual rules. They believe people should enter sweepstakes because it makes them happy and gives websites that offer sweepstakes more traffic, not as a quick way to win prizes. Whether automated sweepstakes submission is “cheating” in a moral sense, is your call.

As a side note, the service Yoursweepstakes also gives you a list of sweepstakes that don’t allow automated entries so you can enter by hand, if you would like.

Will I be able to control which sweepstakes I enter if I use automated sweepstakes entry services?

That depends on the service you use.

First of all, services like WinForMe and Yoursweepstakes are only supposed to enter you to games you are eligible to win, based on your personal information. So, you generally don’t need to worry about picking which sweepstakes you’re qualified to enter.

However, as Lots of Luck Advertising reports, certain players may want to “boycott some contests or sweepstakes due to personal, ecological, moral, religious, or other reasons.” For example, if you’re against a company’s business practices, you may not want to enter their sweepstakes.

According to Lots of Luck Advertising, most services do not let you pick which sweepstakes you want to enter. Some sweepstakes fans say this makes playing less fun.

However, some services do give you more options. The program SweepsWizard, for example, lets you either be entered into new sweepstakes automatically or decide which sweepstakes you’d like to enter.

Are automatic sweepstakes entry services worth the money?

Again, this depends on the service you use and your personal opinion on the topic.

Prices for the service WinForMe range from $11.98 per month for the month-long starter package to $71.76 for the full-year deal. They promise to enter players into an average of 50 games per month, at least. If after 2 weeks, you aren’t satisfied, you can get a refund.

The service Yoursweepstakes offers their month-long package for $8.99 and their year-long package for $59.88, with different options in between. You’re guaranteed 100 entries per month. You can also get a refund after 2 weeks, if you are unsatisfied.

SweepsWizard costs $5 per month. Their service lets you schedule how often you enter sweepstakes, or even pick which ones to enter, so they don’t guarantee how many you will play.

Some sweepstakes fans consider these fees small compared to the hundreds of dollars in cash prizes they could win from games. Other fans see these services as basically charging for something that anyone could easily do for free. It may come down to how you prefer to spend your time.

Now, many automatic sweepstakes entry services, such as WinForMe, renew your subscription on your credit card when it is about to run out. If you’re concerned that you may want to cancel, but could forget, you could try paying with a prepaid credit card that has just enough funds left. Of course, you should still try to cancel on time, but at least if you’re using a prepaid card, you won’t have to deal with unwanted charges if you slip up.

Now that you’ve learned what you need to know about automated sweepstakes entry services, you can decide whether you’d like to use them to help you play.